Friday, June 27, 2008

Last night driving home I was amazed by the rich color and the intensity of smoke that was coming from the West Valley brush fires. Ash was falling from the sky at my house in Ahwatukee miles away. Here are a few snaps from last night.

My son's Jason, Christopher and I took a four day trip to the Sun Valley, Idaho area last week. The goal was to have fun, spend quality time together and see old friends. We missed having Lorie "wife" but we managed to have a great time while she worked back in Phoenix! These are a few happy snaps from the trip. P.S. We released all the fish.

Saturday, June 14, 2008

This is intended for entry-level photographers who have not landed a full-time job yet.

For those who have photojournalism experience via school newspapers and or internships you might ask why is it so hard to get a job?

It has always been hard to get a staff job as a photojournalist. Today is no different. It took me 5 years of sharpening my skills and 3 years of pounding on doors before I landed my first job at 20,000 circulations 6 day a week PM paper. That was 20 years ago!

As an entry level photographer being good is not enough. You have to be totally competent in all areas of photography. Making technically excellent frames, to proficiency in post-production and multimedia.

Beyond your skill set you have to be a good fit on a photography staff. One bad attitude can bring down an entire staff. So attitude is very, very, very important. So, if you’re a legend in your own mind, but it in your back pocket and humble yourself, you haven’t done shit yet.

If you have working experience in multimedia specifically video, Soundslides, Final Cut Pro, Avid and Flash your resume rises above those that don’t. If you’re bilingual a huge plus, all these extra skills help raise your stock as a candidate for staff positions.

You all have heard that newspapers are laying people off by the thousands. Declining readership, declining advertising revenue and escalating production costs. Most newspapers are shrinking not expanding.

The economy will recover. Jobs will come back. Dedication, commitment and fortitude to endure ruff times will test your will. I am one that is living proof if you want something bad enough you will do what ever it takes to make it happen. If that means being a bell-hoop, waiter, waitress, food stamps then so what do it. I will spare you my story. But it was no easy road. I was not one of the lucky ones that landed a job right out of college.

One of my pet peeves is that many students tell me they want to be a sports photographer or sports is their favorite thing to shoot. Really, just about everyone likes to shoot sports. It is so cliché. If you’re talking to a newspaper photo editor don’t tell me you want to be a sports illustrated photographer someday. This tells me you don’t give a shit about the human condition and that you will most likely be lazy when it comes to enterprising stories. Red flag!

A full-time working photojournalist needs to be good in all areas of photography portraiture, general news, spot news, food, interior exterior architecture, fashion, lighting, documentary, wild art enterprise and sports. Most staff photographers will shoot 600 to 700 assignments a year. At least 90 percent of these are general assignment not sports.

I want to meet photographers who are proactive and enterprising. Who have a curiosity about the human condition and is willing to walk about and find stories without provocation.

This is a great job without a doubt but it is also a demanding job with an underlining of expectation and pressure to perform at a high level with every assignment everyday.

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

A few snaps from last weekend. I have been having fun on Saturdays jamming with a bunch of old guys. Old guys with glasses, should be the band name. We can't even call ourselves a mid-life crisis band. We are to old for that. Lorie my wife calls it Brads "Band Camp". I'm the drummer. "LOL" The last time I played live with other people, I was in High School. For all of us, it is a trip back to our youth. We pretty much suck, but once in a while we get lost in a soulful grove. Again, LOL! To much fun! This is a photo from our last jam session. Most of these guys are leaving for the summer. To bad for me! The bottom photo is of the guys tuning up and the other two pictures are from outside Marks house in Scottsdale where we jam.

About Me

Transformation is a photography blog that was created to show my personal and project work. Some of my fine art work is currently represented at the Tilt Gallery in Phoenix www.http://tiltgallery.com.
I feel it's important from time to time to revisit old passions and to enjoy the purity of photography. Yes, it's purely self-indulgent but it helps me satisfy the creative beast within.
When I started this blog, its purpose was primarily photojournalism since I was a photojournalist for 20 years and finally Director of Photography for the East Valley Tribune Newspaper. When that came to an end January 1, 2009 the blog was floundering and it was difficult to find purpose. In a way, I was trying keep one foot in the door as I was trying to hang onto my past.
I'm now moving forward. This is the photography I do for the purity of the art.
Thank you for your support and for viewing my blog. Feel free to leave a comment.
For my commercial work please visit,
http://bradarmstrongphotography.com/